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India, China hold Major General-level talks on LAC issues
The talks took place in the run-up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) Summit in South Africa’s Johannesburg on August 22-24
Days after the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) held the 19th round of military dialogue to cool tensions in the Ladakh sector, the two sides on Friday held major-general level talks to discuss outstanding problems along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), officials aware of the matter said.
The talks, led by different major generals and their PLA counterparts, were held at separate locations in eastern Ladakh -- Daulet Beg Oldi and Chushul, the officials said, asking not to be named. To be sure, both sides have held several rounds of talks at the division commander level (a rung below the corps commanders) after the LAC standoff began in May 2020.
At the 19 rounds of talks between corps commanders of the two armies on August 13 and 14, the two sides agreed to resolve the remaining issues along the LAC in the Ladakh sector in a speedy manner through continued dialogue. That was the first time military talks were held over two days.
The talks took place in the run-up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) Summit in South Africa’s Johannesburg on August 22-24. The possibility of a meeting between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit has not been ruled out. Also, the Chinese leader is expected to be in New Delhi for the G20 summit in September.
To be sure, a joint statement issued on August 15 did not indicate any immediate breakthrough.
“They agreed to resolve the remaining issues in an expeditious manner and maintain the momentum of dialogue and negotiations through military and diplomatic channels. In the interim, the two sides agreed to maintain peace and tranquillity on the ground in the border areas,” said the statement issued after the 19th round of talks.
Despite four rounds of disengagement from the Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15), the Indian and Chinese armies still have tens of thousands of troops and advanced weaponry deployed in the Ladakh theatre.
Problems at Depsang in the Daulet Beg Oldi sector and Charding Nullah Junction (CNJ) in the Demchok sector are still on the negotiating table.
The last round of disengagement from PP-15 took place in September 2022, with the breakthrough coming after the 16th round of military talks in July 2022 to cool tensions in the sensitive sector.
The latest round of corps commander-level talks took place almost four months after the 18th round of military dialogue was held on April 23. Those talks did not yield any significant breakthroughs.
